bash Cookbook

Built-in Commands and Reserved Words

Built-in Commands and Reserved Words shows a summary of all built-in commands and reserved words. The let-ters in the Type column of the table have the following meanings: R = reserved word, blank = built-in.

Table A-4. Built-in commands and reserved words

Command	Type	Summary
!	R	Logical NOT of a command exit status.
:		Do nothing (just do expansions of any arguments).
.		Read file and execute its contents in current shell.
alias		Set up shorthand for command or command line.
bg		Put job in background.
bind		Bind a key sequence to a readline function or macro.
break		Exit from surrounding for, select, while, or until loop.
builtin		Execute the specified shell built-in.
case	R	Reserved word. Multi-way conditional construct.
cd		Change working directory.
command		Run a command bypassing shell function lookup.
compgen		Generate possible completion matches.
complete		Specify how completion should be performed.
continue		Skip to next iteration of for, select, while, or until loop.
declare		Declare variables and give them attributes. Same as typeset.
dirs		Display the list of currently remembered directories.
disown		Remove a job from the job table.
do	R	Part of a for, select, while, or until looping construct.
done	R	Part of a for, select, while, or until looping construct.
echo		Output arguments.
elif	R	Part of an if construct.
else	R	Part of an if construct.
enable		Enable and disable built-in shell commands.
esac	R	End of a case construct.
eval		Run the given ...